The 3rd Column

So much to include and think about here! I’ve been tweaking these for a couple of days now, and I’m sure I will continue to as I develop the syllabus. For now, here’s my third column:

On the Syllabus:

You come to this class as writers. In this workshop, you are also amongst colleagues. As such, you share your stories and experiences and respect the stories and experiences shared with you. As you engage with elements of craft and relevant readings, you ultimately grow more familiar with your own voice, style, and the creative process you sustain in and beyond this workshop.

You are here to write and contribute to a literary community. Active participation as a writer and colleague makes for a valuable workshop experience. To this end, completed writing and reading assignments, thoughtful feedback on colleague work, and engagement with class discussion are expected. Because writing is also re-writing, cultivating your dedication to your work outside of class is also part of the process.

You will be introduced to short fiction, memoir, and poetry. Final portfolios will include one complete piece in a genre of your choosing, revised over the course of the semester, as well as 2-3 pieces in draft form that nevertheless reflect an engagement with the remaining genres, as well as one report on an activity within a larger literary community (ie. attending an on/off-campus reading, submitting to a lit journal, or joining/forming a writing group).

For the first two weeks, we get inspired with an array of in-class writing exercises, which you continue to work on and revise outside of class. After forming our House Rules as a class, workshops commence the third week and continue for 12 weeks, during which your work will be workshopped twice. Please meet with me during the week prior to or following your workshop to ask questions. You also have the support of an assigned partner to review work prior to workshop, attend events with, or lean on for general support.

Each week’s reading highlights one or more of the craft elements we also discuss in class: development of voice, character, point of view, effective conflict, description, dialogue, setting, imagery, etc. To class each week also bring one page of original writing—inspired by the style, voice, or another technique you enjoyed from the week’s reading—to share with the class or in small groups.